Hot Summer Festivals

Country music does festivals right. The artists are often seen sipping cold beverages and hanging with fans in the parking lots, tailgating, of course, or relaxing at campsites. Parties go late into the night, while great music plays all day. The best festivals deliver A-list talent, scenic outdoorsing and a clean, quiet space to get away for those who aren’t into the bugs and mud.

Faster Horses Festival

July 19-21, Brooklyn, Michigan

FasterHorsesFestival.com

This is the first year for the Faster Horses Festival, set to take place just outside the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. Camping is available on the infield of the race track in addition to several offsite venues. Look for Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean to headline a lineup of 20 artists over three days. Tickets are a flat $170 -- a middle-of-the-road in comparison to other festivals. It's a new festival, so there's bound to be some bumps and awkward rules, but the lineup looks stout.

Country Stampede

June 27-30, Manhattan, Kansas

Rick Diamond, Getty Images

A nice bonus at the Country Stampede is the two separate stages for when you'd like to get out of the sun and enjoy a quieter scene. Of course, the most well-known acts are still playing the big stage -- headlining this year are Miranda Lambert, Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean and Little Big Town. Tickets are just $135 for the four-day pass (camping is extra). The festival at Turtle Creek State Park has been going strong since 1996.

Country Concert '13

July 11-13, Ft. Loramie, Ohio

CountryConcert.com

Since 1981 country stars have come to Ohio for an event simply and confidently known as Country Concert. This year's lineup finds those like Little Big Town, Jake Owen and more opening for Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley. Tickets for the three-day fest are $218, but a nice perk is that you can bring in a fairly good-sized cooler and sip your own beverages, or buy reasonably-priced fluids on site.

Country Thunder Wisconsin

July 18-21, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin

Rick Diamond, Getty Images

Country Thunder Wisconsin is sold out! That's bad news, unless you've already got tickets for the four-day late-July festival. Twin Lakes, Wisc. is a pretty good place to be when the weather heats up in the south, and country stars agree. Both Country Thunder concerts draw top talent, including Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley and Jake Owen in 2013. As much as any festival, artists seem to enjoy hanging with fans at this summer party.

Taste of Country Music Festival

June 13-15, Hunter N.Y.

TasteofCountryFestival.com

Call us biased, but this is one you can't miss. The first-annual Taste of Country Music Festival combines an exciting lineup of superstars within the perfect venue to see live music. For three days, you can camp in the heart of the Catskills Mountains before waking up to watch Lady Antebellum, Willie Nelson, Trace Adkins, Hunter Hayes and more perform in 2013. Hotels are available nearby if you're not the outdoorsy type.

Which Summer Festival Are You Looking Forward To?

Will you be celebrating country music in the great outdoors this summer? No other genre does music festivals quite like country music... Let us know which fest you've got marked on your calendar, and check back with Taste of Country for more information on all of them.

Welcome back to Taste of Country

It appears that you already have an account created within our VIP network of sites on .
To keep your points and personal information safe, we need to verify that it's really you.
To activate your account, please confirm your password.
When you have confirmed your password, you will be able to log in through Facebook on both sites.

Welcome back to Taste of Country

It appears that you already have an account on this site associated with . To connect your existing account just click on the account activation button below. You will maintain your existing VIP profile. After you do this, you will be able to always log in to http://tasteofcountry.com using your original account information.